The Reflecting Skin (1991)
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75% of critics liked it
(8 reviews) -
78% of users liked it
(2,424 ratings)
Set in a 1950s-era American heartland of sprawling wheat fields and lonely old houses, The Reflecting Skin is British director Philip Ridley's fascinating and very strange investigation into the horrors of childhood innocence and fantasy. The film's mixture of gruesome subject matter, morbid… More Set in a 1950s-era American heartland of sprawling wheat fields and lonely old houses, The Reflecting Skin is British director Philip Ridley's fascinating and very strange investigation into the horrors of childhood innocence and fantasy. The film's mixture of gruesome subject matter, morbid sexual perversion, and disarming humor has spawned comparisons to the work of David Lynch, particularly Blue Velvet and the Twin Peaks series. Young Seth Dove (Jeremy Cooper) lives with his mother and father in a ramshackle farmhouse that also serves as the local gas station. After reading one of his father's pulp horror magazines, Seth convinces himself that Dolphin Blue (Lindsay Duncan), the attractive widow who lives nearby, is a vampire. When Seth's friend Eben is found dead (and sexually abused) in the family cistern, Seth is sure that Dolphin is to blame. The authorities, however, point to Seth's father, whose secret homosexuality -- and past affair with a young boy -- is a skeleton in the town's closet. Seth's father refuses to have the affair dragged into public view, and so he burns himself alive at the family gas pump, prompting Seth's older brother Cameron (Viggo Mortensen) to return home from a military tour. Cameron falls for Dolphin, and at the same time he becomes weak and begins losing hair. Seth takes this as a sign that Cameron is being drained of vitality by Dolphin, although it is suggested that his sickness is in fact due to overseeing A-bomb tests while on a ship in the South Pacific. Meanwhile, a roving gang prowls the country roads in a sleek, black Cadillac, and more children are found dead. It is not surprising that writer/director Philip Ridley has also published books for children, since watching The Reflecting Skin is a lot like reading a young adult novel, albeit a horrific one. Presented from a child's strangely warped point-of-view, this film should be appreciated by anyone looking for films far outside the mainstream. ~ Anthony Reed, Rovi
- Directed By
- Philip Ridley
- Written By
- Philip Ridley
- Genres
- Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1990 Wide
- On DVD
- Feb 26, 1992
- Studio
- Miramax Films
Critic Reviews
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Adam Lippe, Examiner.com
When you name a character Dolphin Blue, saddle her with a dead husband she didn't know, which causes her to lose her mind, and suggest that she might be a 200 year-old vampire, you should probably suggest that she's more of a representational figure.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Too odd for its own good; too disturbing to dismiss.
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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Viggo Mortensen
as Cameron Dove
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Lindsay Duncan
as Dolphin Blue
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Jeremy Cooper
as Seth Dove
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Sheila Moore
as Ruth Dove
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Duncan Fraser
as Luke Dove
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David Longworth
as Joshua
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Robert Koons
as Sheriff Ticker
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David Bloom
as Deputy
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Sherry Bie
as Cassie
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Guy Buller
as Passenger
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Debi Greenawdt
as 1st Woman
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Evan Hall
as Kim
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Walt Healy
as Old Man
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Sandra Redmond
as 2nd Woman
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Jacqueline Robbins
as Twin
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Joyce Robbins
as Twin
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Jerry Jeff Walker
as Adam Blue
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Codie Lucas Wilbee
as Eben
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Jason Allen Wolfe
as Cadillac Driver